"If Eva Morrison says she ever gave me a dress, or anything of the kind, she tells a lie, and you may tell her I say so! I should think she would be ashamed of herself to be such a hypocrite—pretending to be so fond of me and then telling such falsehoods about me. I have a great mind to say I will never speak to her again!"
"I wouldn't, if I were you," said Dora, delighted with her success. "But, Amy, don't you ever tell Eva that I told you. It would make no end of trouble in the family, if you should, because my father and Mr. Morrison are in business together. By the way, it is not true, is it, that Mr. Morrison set your mother up in business?"
"Of course not! Mother had money enough from the sale of my father's pictures to set herself up in business, and have something to spare!"
"There, I didn't believe it when she said so. Well, Amy, I don't like any of these patterns. I think I will go down to Mrs. Mercer's and see if she has anything prettier."
Dora went away very much delighted with the success of her scheme, and leaving Amy feeling more unhappy than she had ever done in all her life before. She loved Eva dearly, and was deeply grieved that her friend should have been so treacherous toward her. But her pride was also wounded, and she listened to the counsels of pride rather than to those of affection. The latter advised her to go at once to Eva, tell her what she had heard, and ask an explanation; but pride told her that such a course would be mean and degrading, and would show her to be wanting in self-respect. It would have been well for Amy if, like Eva, she had been in the habit of telling everything to her mother; but she was very reserved by nature, and rarely spoke to any one of her own feelings.
She brooded over what she had heard all that day and the next, and by the time she was ready to go to school on Monday morning, she had fully made up her mind never to have any more to do with Eva Morrison.
Consequently, when Eva came to meet her with outstretched hands, as usual, Amy met her with averted eyes, and the coolest of nods, and going directly to her place, she began to study with all her might.
"What in the world ails Amy?" asked one of the girls, who had seen the meeting.
"Oh, nothing I guess!" replied Eva, though she wondered at her friend's manner. "People don't always feel alike, you know!"
"There is more about it than that," said Dora, who had been watching the meeting. "Only you never will listen to anything, I could tell you all about the matter."